In the end, Avast did a really good job with virus removal, cleaning up the majority of threats off our PCs. There were small handsful of foreign adware left behind on some of the test PCs, but given that the nastiest threats were all caught, it's virus removal can safely be called, "very good."

One strange thing was that Avast claimed to have found zero threats. Not one... even though it obviously got most of them. Puzzling.

We put this question to different Avast reps and got different answers each time, but no one had a definitive solution.

As for real-time protection, Avast did well here, too. With a fresh install of Windows and Avast Pro Antivirus on each test PC, we attempted to download and install our multiple malware sets. Avast instantly started deleting them one by one before we could even open them. Those that we could open were blocked before we could install them.

Avast then prompted us (again) for boot scans on the test computers, which (again) took some time to run.

After a reboot, our PCs were almost as good as new... almost. About 35% of the malware samples remaining in our 'Downloads' folder, but Avast blocked them when we tried to launch them.

And, there were still some desktop icons remaining and the occasional adware program running.

We'd prefer to see the malware quarantined or it and the icons deleted outright, but all-in-all, it was a very respectable performance by Avast.

During our phishing tests, Avast didn't do as well, where it missed just under a third of the phishing sites we visited.

One thing to note, which we didn't care for: a special browser antiphishing add-on needs to be installed first.

It's easy to see given the bad reputation browser add-ons have these days how some users might neglect to install it.

Avast should be able to identify phishing sites without the add-on. It's a weakness in an otherwise good performance from Avast.

Resource Usage: 84%

Avast's resource usage was slightly higher than normal but still reasonable.

Running at idle in the background, Avast was nearly silent. But when running a full scan, Avast consumed about 10% of the system resources. That's to be expected.

Boot up time was nearly double that of the competition, causing Windows to load noticeably slower than normal.

We're disappointed with the slow boot time, but Avast Pro Antivirus makes up for it with good performance once Windows is running.

User Interface: 90%

Click images to enlarge

The user interface for Avast is modern and clean looking—a much needed upgrade from last year.

Each section is clearly labeled and easy to navigate.

Thankfully, Avast also includes good, well-labeled advanced settings.

Although most people won't need to wander into these places often, it's good to see these are well-executed, too.

Technical Support: 50%

Avast's technical support department is a big let-down for us.

For an otherwise good product, Avast really misses the mark when it comes to support.

On the surface, their support page looks great. There's a searchable knowledgebase, forum link, support ticket link, and even a prominent phone number to call.

But then things get murky. Fast.

If you want to submit a support ticket from within the user interface, you're forced to walk through several selections (with an annoying pop-up, no less) just to be allowed to ask your question.

After submitting, it says you'll get a response in a few days—even if you label your question, "critical."

You need to be able to rely on the manufacturer to help you when you need it. The lack of clarity and transparency here is no good.

If you opt to call them, there's a whole host of new problems to deal with.

First, the rep we talked to said they have support centers in the Czech Republic as well as the US. We ourselves were always routed to Costa Rica, no doubt because of the similarity of time zones.

While it's true they will give you "free" support for minor issues like installation help, configuration, etc., that's where the "free" part of the equation ends.

If you have a virus infection, you're going to need to pay a one-time fee of $119 for them to remove it (or $179 for a year's worth of service). This is the second highest one-time fee of any manufacturer this year. (Only Panda is higher.)

Aside from our own experience with their technical support, we've had numerous complaints from readers taking our annual satisfaction survey. They fell into two categories:

Avast hasn't always fully removed viruses even after paying the fee.

they've been given a "hard sell" to try to up-sell them to the yearly service. Yuck.

It's frustrating to see a product do well technologically only to fall short because of expensive, lackluster support.